Books that Could be Anime – Discussion

A while back I did a post talking about Western Shows that could be anime. In that post I looked at television shows that I felt could work in an anime format. That post was liked by a lot of people and I thank you all for that, but it got me thinking about something. I’ve talked about shows, what about books? There are plently of novels and stories out there in the world, some of them are bound to be prime for the anime format. So today, as a follow up to Western Shows That Could Be Anime, here’s my list of Books that Could Be Anime. So with our books in tow and without further a do, let’s get into this discussion.

Fifty Shades

Ok, just hear me out on this one. I know these books have gained infamy for being ‘so bad they’re good’ and elevating the erotica book genre into the stratosphere, but why do I think it could work in anime form? One reason, Diabolik Lovers exists. That show is known for its apparently despicable nature, dreadful premise and just unpleasant direction, especially on the intimacy front. But I am an optimist, and I believe that if 50 Shades was to be made into an anime it could perhaps work. I’m probably grasping at straws, but considering ecchi elements are much more common place when it comes to anime, the out of place BDSM stuff would probably work a lot better. Ok I am really reaching with this one, but look if a show as mean-spirited, cruel and twisted as Diabolik Lovers can exist, then why can’t a 50 Shades anime?

Hunger Games

It was either this or Twilight. Then I remembered Twilight was what gave birth to 50 Shades so I decided to go for this teenage gusher of a series. The Hunger Games is basically survival of the fittest with a narrative slapped on the top. The Hunger Games movies have generated a lot, and I mean A LOT of money, and have gathered a mixed reputation. A story about kids fighting for survival all for the entertainment of grown ups, that concept alone sounds prime for an anime style. If things like Mirai Nikki are anything to go by, this type of story has been done before and can be done pretty well. The show could have some futuristic elements like the Hunger Games do with a combination of more primitive elements in their weapons and the setting, almost akin to SAO except in real life. The animation could really be used to accentuate the extreme environments and outlandish costumes that come with this world as well as creating some grotesque monster designs with the Tracker Jackers and those weird dog monsters.

Ready Player One

Ready Player One may be know for its smash hit film, but it is also a best-selling book. Now anime is no stranger to easter eggs, they reference each other all the time, with classics like Naruto, Dragon Ball etc always cropping up. But anime also makes a lot of western media references, examples including Evil Dead/Army of Darkness, Metal Gear etc. I think an anime style Ready Player One would be an amazing idea. So many different anime’s could cross over with eachother, anime is no stranger to crossover episodes so this sort of thing would be a great thing for fans. In terms of plot, I think a fetch quest type thing would work here too, exploring the different worlds of anime like Dragon Ball, AOT, Bleach, I can go on for hours. In conclusion, a Ready Player One anime could be a fabulous way to cross over so many different shows and offer some wonderful fanservice for people.

The H.P. Lovecraft Works

This isn’t a single book, but rather a complete collection of works. H.P. Lovecraft has gone down in history as perhaps one of the greatest fantasy/horror writers of our time. He’s known for the creation of many iconic monsters like Shoggoth, Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath and of course Cythulu. Monsters in anime are nothing new, nor is anime with monsters as the focus. With the vast mythos the Cythulu mythos wields, so much of it could be turned into an anime, I can see it being some bizarre blend of Blood C, Evangelion and basically any anime you can think of that’s balls to the walls crazy. With all these giant monsters as well, maybe some sentai and kaiju elements can be thrown in as well. The mystery element that his books have are similar to the likes of Another, Steins;Gate etc. and a really unique and compelling mystery about the tracking and containment of these creatures that are not only larger than life, but existance itself.

The Shining

Trust me, this idea came out of nowhere for me too, but yes The Shining would make for a spectacular anime in my opinion. The story of a man slowly driven to madness as he and his family move into a large house, where his mind is slowly twisted by the ghosts of the past. If you were to transfer this to anime format, I can see a bizarre blend of Another, Mirai Nicki, Higarashi and a dash of Angel of Death. To me it could be a twisted psychological horror that starts off as a somewhat light-hearted show, but as times goes on the sinister aspects begin to slowly bleed into the characters and by the end of the series, their whole world will have been ripped down to expose the horrors around them. Anime is no stranger to being scary, and I honestly can see an anime version of the infamous ‘Here’s Johnny’ moment being a really scary scene. Who knows, maybe a second series could be based on The Shining’s sequel

Godzilla Monster Apocolypse + Godzilla: Project Mechagodzilla

Oh wow! An Average Joe post featuring Godzilla somehow, that’s new. Yeah I know Godzilla weaves his way into my blog at almost every turn, but this is one that covers more than just Godzilla and is in fact related to Kaiju’s overall. The Godzilla anime trilogy is a divisive subject, but this isn’t about the movies, this is about its prequel novels. These novels covered what happens in the build up to the first movie, with numerous kaiju appearing around the world and slowly destroying it. The books are despairful and obviously do not yield a happy ending considering that the end result is the complete destruction of all but a few humans. People were disappointed at the lack of any real kaiju action in these anime movies, but the books have bucket loads of it, with monster not just from the Godzilla franchise, but also Space Amoeba, Atragon and even the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. Basically this is like Destroy all Monsters and Final wars rolled into one and amped up to 11 and it’s exactly what the Godzilla anime needs. I can imagine the story being more focused on the monsters as opposed to the humans, which could create some serious emotion considering that the humans are so insignificant they aren’t even the focus of the story. I beg for an english release of these books so I can give them a real read and look at the pages of kaiju destruction for myself, and beg more so for an anime adaptation.

Ending Words

With that my list ends, this was a lot of fun and was a real brain teaser at times. What books do you think would be good as anime and what did you think of my picks? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed it. If you did please conider leaving a like and following my blog for further updates on future posts. Also follow me on twitter @joe_reviews for further updates and general nonsense. Till next time.

I think almost anything could be an anime, but some might make for a better anime than others. Of all the titles you mentioned, I think i would most probably watch Ready Player One. I haven’t read the book, but I’ve seen the movie and I think the idea of a quest, gathering allies and working out clues would really work well when it’s stretched out into a series of episodes.

I also read these books recently: The Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrance. I kept imagining everyone as anime characters (which doesn’t usually happen). So I guess this series would make a decent anime. Also, the protagonist would end up being one of those really iconic anime characters (like Yagami Light or Lelouch).

H.P. Lovercraft novels would make for some awesome horror anime. There’s not enough horror anime as there is. As for The Hunger Games I think the wider format would better allow develop aspects of the world that in the movies were just ignored. Or it could just be a fun bloodbath hahaha.

Those Godzilla novels sound awesome. If only I knew me some Japanese to actually read them. Shame.

Other than some classical stuff like The Divine Comedy, and Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, two J.R.R. Tolkien works everything else I read tend to be on the dramatic side. I could imagine the novel Pachinko by Min Jin Lee working as a anime drama since it had plenty of characters, and plenty of characterization for them. I wouldn’t mind seeing that since it instantly became a favorite after finishing it. One can dream though!

TAM LIN (Pamela Dean): Young girl encounters elves at a midwestern college.
SWEET SILVER BLUES (Glen Cook): Fantasy world private eye.
DEATH OF THE NECROMANCER (Martha Wells): Magic action in a city that’s much like 1800’s Paris.
TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG (Connie Willis): Time travel from the 2300’s back to Victorian England in search of a vital sculpture

I get where you’re coming from with the HP stuff, it is kinda wacky and a bit odd (ok its REALLY odd), but I just thought with all the surreal anime we already have it woould work. I’ll probably give Mistborn a read, sounds interesting based on the title alone.